Pages

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Geek (Chic?)

New year, new me? I got a makeover of sorts today: new haircut, new lipstick, and new glasses!My first stop this afternoon was a salon on the Lower East Side called Pimps & Pinups, which I found by Googling "retro hair salon." (Jeff insists on calling it Pimps & Ho's, but who can blame him really?) I was very pleased when I met my stylist Michelle and she was wearing a 50s frock and a big, lovely roll on top of her forehead. Whew! I'd found my people.

Michelle really had her work cut out for her (ha, ha) as I hadn't had so much as a trim in over six months. I have thick hair that works its way into a dry tangly mess when I neglect it, which I most certainly had. I told Michelle I wanted a versatile cut that could be worked into a variety of retro 'dos. She recommended a blunt cut with some layers throughout. She also took off a couple inches of length and thinned it out, which was a revelation! My heavy mess of hair was suddenly manageable. She blew it out very straight so she could see the layers, but I confess I hate my hair in that style (Jeff was relieved to see my "underbrush" had been hacked off, but he joked that the blowout made me look like a yuppie.) It was fun to get home and play with it - I set it briefly in some big rollers and then did a Victory Roll on my forehead and twisted both sides back. I don't know if this is actually an authentic look from the 40s or some sort of weird hybrid, but I like it.

Next I stopped at MAC in Soho and bought a new matte lipstick: Lady Danger. (Great name, eh?) One of you lovely readers recommended it, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's much more orange than my usual Russian Red, and it's a nice change I think. This pic (with major flash action) shows the color the best:

Next I got a call from my optometrist saying my new glasses were in. I picked these out a couple weeks ago and was super excited to get them. I was going to go with my usual cateye shape, but then I (half-jokingly) tried these on. Jeff was smitten, and I loved the way they looked with red lips and a 40s 'do.

I'm a chunky specs devotee, so I am wholly in favor of yours! I bought a pair of vintage frames from a dealer at the Brimfield antique fair - they are late 40's/50's Leonardo brand (Spanish). I love to wear them with a prim outfit at my rather conservative job. I think the juxtaposition between the tougher frame makes a ladylike outfit look even more chic - and much cooler. Have fun with yours! I recall you saying a long time ago that you didn't like to wear your glasses - I bet you won't be able to take these ones off!

Gertie! You are so lovely! The glasses were a wonderful choice, and the hair looks great. I, like jm, miss your thicker hair, but I know how much of an annoyance that can be! Thinner looks fabulous too. Great makeover!

You look lovely, and your hair really suits you that way. Your hair sounds similar to mine in thickness, and I'm trying to grow mine out at the moment from a short bob. I don't know how you managed not to get yours trimmed for 6 months, mine's driving me barmy!

cute! I love lady danger but its way too orange for my skin tone. I am forever a Ruby Woo girl. your glasses are so cute as well! I went looking for some vintage glasses at Old focal in Pasadena... no luck... My heart couldn't commit! Those look great on you though! I have some Ray bans turned into eye glasses and everyone loves them.

You always look gorgeous, polished, and very cute. Today's photos are lovely. I have to admit though I had pangs of jealousy when I saw your hair in the tissue-fitting vlog because it was long, thick AND lustrous - and I'd just had mine cut above my shoulders!

I'm getting more and more envious of that hair of yours... But I've haven't had long hair for over 15 years (oooh, that made me feel really old, but I cut my hair from bob to short when I was 14), and have been determined not to have long hair again... You're making me reconsider!!!

Love the lipstick as well, and the glasses. Geeky chic is the best look!!

You look lovely! It's just a different look from before. I did find your previous frames sassy, and to my uniniated eyes they provided more interest in interaction with your hair and dress style. These also suit you, of course :)

Can I pimp the website that saved the condition of my own hair? forums.longhaircommunity.com. AND it's populated by lovely people. (The best of them hang out in the blogs and the friendship board.)

love the new glasses~very madmen and you pull it off so well! i am also a lady danger fan (in addition to ruby woo). for everyday wear, i've been in love with tarte's 24/7 lip sheer lip balm in monday. surprisingly pretty for a lip balm with lots of moisturizers in it. perfect for winter.

jm, I hear ya! I think the theory behind thinning is that it keeps heavy hair from looking weighted down, so when you curl it, it actually looks fuller. It is looking rather thin now, but that's because it was blown out bone straight yesterday. We'll see how it looks when it's curled. And hey - it's just hair. It will always grow back!

Love the new glasses. My husband has similar ones. I just bought new glasses yesterday and desperately tried to find black retro ones but alas, they are just too dark for my pale skin and light hair. Super cute on you though.

Liked the old glasses, like the new! I'm sure you're enjoying the change.

And I think the very nice posters bemoaning your/your stylist's choice to thin don't have to deal with thick wavy hair...gotta hack out the underbrush to a) get more bounce for the ounce and b) enhance styling!

I'll explain here the benefits to thinning. I understand many people can overly thin hair but in this case there are several reasons why I chose to. Because the cut is more blunt on the ends thinning a little can keep the hair from getting a triangular shape. (meaning heavy looking on the bottom.... very 80's.... ICK!) Also, Gertie has very thick hair and a little thinning will also make it a TON easier to style while also adding some longevity to the cut.

I thought I recognized Lady Danger. Looks fabulicious on you. You've inspired me to see if I can schedule a makeover at MAC when I am in Phoenix this week. By the way, you would look keen and sexy in my Schiap specs.

You look gorgeous with that new haircut and glasses!!! :D (Says she who needs both desperately... it's been 6 months since I got my hair cut too. Yikes!) I really love the look of the frames especially.

Also: I'm excited to see how Lady Danger looks on you! I've been eying that shade for months (but haven't tried it because the MAC counter at Dillards is staffed by crappy sales people, and I haven't dragged myself downtown to the MAC store). Now I have to try it! ;)